Highlands Natural Resources Share News (HNR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Imperial Brands, up 3.2%. The tobacco group was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Oil companies, BP, down 2.4%, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', down 2.2%, Shell 'B', down 2.1%. The Brent crude price was lower Monday, trading at USD44.44 a barrel compared to USD45.56 at the London equities close on Friday.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Ted Baker, up 4.3%. Jefferies upgraded the fashion retailer to Buy from Hold.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Vedanta Resources, down 4.7%. Vedanta's Cairn India subsidiary late Friday said its fourth-quarter net loss widened year on year. Cairn India made a INR10,948 crore net loss in the three months ended March 31, widening from INR241 crore the corresponding quarter a year earlier. For the year ended March 31, Cairn India made a net loss of INR9,432 crore, versus a profit of INR4,480 crore a year earlier. Exceptional items for the year amounted to INR11,674 crore primarily on account of impairment of goodwill due to a significant decline in oil prices. Vedanta holds a 59.8% stake in Cairn India.
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Allied Minds, down 3.3%. The science and technology development group reported a widened pretax loss in what it called a "successful" 2015, as it increased investment in creating four new businesses and developing its existing businesses towards commercialisation. It reported a pretax loss of USD98.0 million for 2015, widened from USD57.7 million in 2014, mostly as a result of higher selling, general and administrative expenses, and a big step up in research and development costs. Allied Minds said its group subsidiary ownership adjusted value, a key metric for the company, rose to USD535.8 million as at the end of 2015 from USD488.0 million at the end of 2014.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Highlands Natural Resources, up 28%. The oil and gas explorer said it has made "significant progress" in commercialising its DT Ultravert technology, and said further acquisitions in America are in the works following its move in North Dakota last November. Last year the company bought a 75% interest in fracking technology DT Ultravert from Diversion Technologies. It said that, alongside Schlumberger NV, it is in ongoing talks with over 20 companies to commercialise DT Ultravert in the US. Highlands said it is evaluating a potential natural gas and associated helium play in the US, and it is currently in talks for joint development of mining claims it purchased in March covering 1,219 acres in Grand County, Utah.

Randall & Quilter Investments Holdings, up 15%. The non-life insurance investor said it swung to pretax profit in 2015 amid a good performance in its UK arm. Randall & Quilter said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was GBP2.8 million, swung from a GBP1.6 million loss in 2014. The group had made a GBP4.5 million loss in the first half, but results improved significantly in the second half. The profit was driven by the group's run-off portfolios performing well in the second half, delivering a net reserve release of GBP9.5 million, compared to GBP2.4 million a year earlier.

Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group, up 7.5%. The satellite broadband provider said it has secured a GBP2.0 million unsecured loan note from the UK Business Growth Fund. The Business Growth Fund is backed by UK banks and provides funding for small and medium-sized businesses. The note carries a fixed coupon of 10% and is repayable after 12 months. The company said the funds will strengthen its balance sheet and allow the group to pursue acquisitions to drive growth.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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St Ives, down 46%. The marketing services company said it expects its underling pretax profit for its current financial year to be "materially below" its current expectations, and warned the following year would also be hit. St Ives said its trading overall in the eight months to the beginning of April had continued to be "broadly in line" with its expectations, with revenue up 5% compared to the previous year, however its outlook for the final quarter to end-July and following financial year has deteriorated. Global economic uncertainty has led to significant projects being deferred or cancelled, the group said.

Outsourcery, down 38%. The cloud services company said 2016 trading is in line with its expectations, though this will include weaker revenue growth from its partners due to product launch delays. Outsourcery said it will require new short-term working capital and is investigating alternatives to raise money, including a fundraising, a restructuring and the disposal of non-core assets. The company said it is holding talks with its creditors on its financial position.

Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings, down 16%. The immunodiagnostics testing company said it expects a significant asset write-down of goodwill and capitalised costs to be realised in the accounts for its most recently ended financial year, but said this will not hit its cashflow. The company reiterated expectations for a fall in revenue to GBP39 million for the year ended in March, down from GBP45 million the previous year, due to reductions in the company's manual assay business. The company also said it is continuing to lose business for its automated 25-OH Vitamin D assays as larger laboratories migrate to different systems once contracts are up for renewal. It expects these revenue trends to continue into its current financial year.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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